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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING MEETING OF COOK COUNTY SEPARATELY ELECTED OFFICIALS AND DEPARTMENTS TO DISCUSS COUNTY-WIDE ANTI-VIOLENCE STRATEGY
WHEREAS, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office’s public dataset, Cook County reported 985 homicides in 2020. 884 of those homicides involved gunshot wounds as the cause of death; and
WHEREAS, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office’s public dataset, Cook County reported 1,009 homicides from January 1, 2021, through December 1, 2021. Signifying an increase of approximately 2.37% in reported homicides; and
WHEREAS, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office’s public data set, Cook County reported 928 gun-related homicides out of the reported 1,009 homicides from January 1, 2021, through December 1, 2021. Signifying an approximately 4.74% increase in reported homicides from 2020 (884) versus January 1, 2021, through December 1, 2021 (928). This data does not include the remaining weeks in the year 2021 and does not reflect the 855 cause “pending” deaths reported by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office for the year 2021; and
WHEREAS, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office’s public data set, the City of Chicago reported 726 gun-related homicides in 2020. Similarly, the Chicago Sun-times reported the City of Chicago had 706 gun-related homicides out 775 reported total homicides. Furthermore, 579 of those reported gun-related homicides involved the death of a person identified as “Black”; and
WHEREAS, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office’s public data set, the City of Chicago reported 728 gun-related homicides from January 1, 2021, through December 1, 2021. Similarly, the Chicago Sun-times, the City of Chicago had 754 gun-related homicides out of 791 total reported homicides from December 1, 2020, through December 1, 2021. Signifying an approximately 6.4% increase in reported gun-related homicides. Furthermore, 600 of those reported gun-related homicides involved the death of a person identified as “Black”; and
WHEREAS, according to public data released by the Chicago Police Department, from January 1, 2021, to November 28, 2021, the City of Chicago reported 9,458 motor vehicle thefts compared to reporting 8,936 motor vehicle thefts in 2020. Signifying an approximately 5.51% increase in reported motor vehicle thefts from the full calendar year of 2020 compared to January 1, 2021, to November 28, 2021; and
WHEREAS, on July 30, 2020 the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed resolution 20-2867, commonly known as the “Justice for Black Lives” resolution. The Justice for Black Lives resolution acknowledged past and current efforts to reform aspects of Cook County’s criminal justice system, particularly regarding communities of color. Moreover, the Justice for Black Lives resolution called for the County to increase healthcare and mental healthcare funding in communities of color, prioritize investing in restorative justice programs throughout the County to mitigate violence, allocate resources to maintain a living wage for public sector jobs and encourage the private sector to do the same, assist with expanding public transit accessibility, expand housing resources and resources to help residents facing eviction and/or foreclosure, and increasing minority and women participation in Cook County contracts; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2021, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed resolution 21-2664, commonly known as the “Declaring Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis” resolution. Resolution 21-2664 outlined the portentous and dismal statistics, over several years until April of 2021, regarding the rise and continued high levels of gun related crimes and homicides throughout Cook County and the City of Chicago. Likewise, resolution 21-2664 called for the County: 1) declare gun violence as a public health crisis, 2) decrease gun violence among the youth, 3) increase funding to the Justice Advisory Council programs specific to reducing gun-violence, 4) work closely with Sheriff and local law enforcement agencies to create strategies to reduce the amount of illegal firearms in Cook County, 5) work with marginalized populations to provide education on gun violence, issues and solutions, 6) advocate for relevant policies that improve health in communities of color, 7) support local, State, and Federal programs that advance anti-gun violence initiatives, and 8) actively work towards reducing the 30-40 million dollars spent each year at Cook County Health on trauma from gun violence by creating a budget line item specifically used for gun violence prevention and intervention;and
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2021, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed ordinance 21-6225 amending Cook County’s municipal code concerning “Designating Firearm and Ammunition Tax Revenues for Gun Violence Prevention. The Cook County Board of Commissioners specifically amended Section 74-677 of the County’s municipal code to, allocate “revenue generated as a result of the collection and remittance of the firearm tax and firearm ammunition tax set forth herein shall be directed to the Special Purpose Equity Fund to fund gun violence prevention programs as well as operations and programs aimed at reducing gun violence as determined by the Justice Advisory Council.” This amendment became effective immediately on November 4, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board President and Cook County Board of Commissioners agree and understand the importance of Cook County developing long-term and short term solutions to combat the surge of violence and violent crimes rippling through Cook County; and
WHEREAS, The Cook County Board President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners agree and understand the importance to establish effective communication and collaboration across all levels of government including out Federal, State, and local municipal leaders and officials representing all 135 municipalities comprising Cook County; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, The Cook County Board of Commissioners shall convene a joint committee meeting, pursuant to Sections 2-103 - 2-111 of the Cook County Municipal Code, between the Health and Hospitals Committee and the Criminal Justice Committee to discuss county-wide strategies and progress combating the recent surge in violent crimes, specifically gun-related crimes and motor vehicle thefts. The joint committee meeting shall occur pursuant to proper notice by the committee chairs and proper quorum, pursuant to Sections 2-103 and 2-107; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the joint committee meeting shall hear reports, updates, and strategies, both ongoing and future strategic proposals, from the following separately elected officials:
• Cook County Sheriff’s Office,
• Office of the Chief Judge,
• Cook County State’s Attorney Office,
• Office of the Public Defender,
• Clerk of the Circuit Court,
• Cook County, Health,
• Cook County Department of Public Health,
• Justice Advisory Council, and
• Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the reports, updates, and strategies will detail the separately elected officials, or County department, office, and/or bureaus individual efforts and collaborative efforts with other separately elected officials or County departments, offices, and/or bureaus;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Cook County hereby supports and extends itself and resources to effective communication and collaboration with its counterparts across all levels of government, to facilitate effective short term and long-term actions addressing violence and crime in Cook County;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the county will send a copy of this resolution, either a physical or electronic version, to all 135 municipalities comprising Cook County, to the Governor of Illinois and the State Legislature, and to the President of the United States and Illinois’ federally elected officials; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED: a copy of this Resolution will be filed within the records and archives of Cook County.
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